Yukon Quest musher Brent Sass drew a big crowd upon his arrival to Dawson City checkpoint on Wednesday Feb. 10, 2016. The 1,000-mile race runs from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, Yukon. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Whitehorse Star-Marcel Vander Wier

DAWSON CITY, Yn - The first musher to reach the Klondike in the Yukon Quest sled dog race has scored a hat trick with his arrival at the halfway point.

Brent Sass, 36, showed up in Dawson City in top spot for the third year in a row, arriving at 12:21 p.m. Wednesday, when the temperature was -17C.

Sass, of Eureka, Alaska, is among 23 mushers, including five Yukoners, who are attempting the odyssey to Whitehorse after leaving Fairbanks, Alaska last Saturday.

As the first person to reach the halfway mark, Sass can claim four ounces of Dawson City placer gold, currently valued at nearly $6,700, or US$4,800.

All he has to do is finish the race, in any position, to take home the prize.

That's in addition to the US$115,000 purse that will be split between the top 10 finishers.

Last year, Sass claimed victory in nine days, 12 hours and 49 minutes.

The Dawson checkpoint in the 1,600-kilometre sled dog race is the first official stop on the Canadian side of the border.

Sass and his team of 14 huskies entered the checkpoint with one fatigued dog — Braeburn — riding comfortably in the sled.

While eager fans of the 33rd annual race watched, Sass had his belongings checked by race officials before presenting his passport to a Canadian customs officer.

He will rest for a mandatory 36 hours before getting back into the race at 12:21 a.m. Friday.

Travelling from Eagle, Alaska, mushers face both American Summit — a 1,026-metre mountain — and another steep detour off the Yukon River to the Top of the World Highway.

Impassable ice jams between the mouth of the Fortymile River and Dawson City meant a re-route to the Top of the World Highway, resulting in an additional 762-metre climb.

Sass said it was a difficult trek.

"My legs hurt really bad right now, I can tell you that," the musher told reporters at the checkpoint. "Instead of a flat river, we had to go over some hills. I think it probably got to my head a little bit, which probably got to the dogs' heads a little bit."

Sass said reaching the halfway point first is significant, but there's still a long route ahead.

"It's awesome, but the finish line is still in Whitehorse. But it means the dogs are performing good. ... It's been an interesting race for sure. Nothing like last year's race, so that's why I'm pretty happy to be here."

Two years ago, Sass failed to claim his golden prize after suffering a race-ending concussion near Braeburn. The gold was instead forfeited to 2014 race winner Allen Moore.

Looking tired, a smiling Sass admitted his dogs struggled with a stomach bug early in the race.

"The stress of the race got to them and they were fairly sick for the first three or four days of the race," he said. "Last year, I'd throw anything at them and they'd eat it like alligators. This year I had to give them a buffet of food every single meal. … It just took me a lot longer."

Sass was also the first musher to cross the Canadian border late Tuesday night.

Trailing two hours behind him are former race champions Allen Moore and Hugh Neff.

Rising star Matt Hall is currently in fourth place, followed by Yukon musher Ed Hopkins.

The Tagish Lake resident is currently the top Canadian.

Race marshal Doug Grilliot said the first half of the trail was in tip-top shape.

"We've been fortunate this year on the Alaska side and so far down to Dawson," he said Wednesday. "The trail was just in incredibly good shape." (Whitehorse Star)

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016